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 Posted: Sun Dec 12, 2021 5:33 pm
Calix enjoyed reading books and would rather stay inside his family's private library at the manor instead of going out and about. Unfortunately for him the youngling couldn't make a gift out of the books that his family already owned and so he was out in the market today with his twin. "How does one find the perfect gift?" Calix sighed as he glanced about. At least it was a smaller Matori village so he didn't have to worry about getting lost in the markets or something like that, but he still had no idea what type of gift to even look for. Winter solstice was important apparently and it was traditional to find gifts for each other during a special night when the world was darker than normal. Apparently it was a good way to cheer the spirits, especially those living in countries that got really cold, and the tradition existed from centuries ago with some earthling nations.
Calix shrugged as he glanced about the warmer beach of Matori. Did they need to go out and purchase gifts when they obviously had no winter to worry about? It truly was such a hassle to try and figure out what everyone wanted, but he supposed that was the true challenge. It wasn't about the cost but rather the gift itself for his family. Did Qaisan even have an idea of what to get their parents? Or their grandmother if she came down?
[1]
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Posted: Mon Jan 10, 2022 3:07 pm
Qaisan looked over his shoulder at a pair of Matorians who just so happened to be tailing them and also just so happened to be armed. His glance was casual at best, but even then it was something he wasn't supposed to do. What was the point in having private guards that could blend with their surroundings if he kept pointing them out?
At one point he'd even purposefully gone out of his way to call out a guard in public just to ensure the man could never work with them again. It's what he deserved for calling Qaisan spoiled; say a mean thing have a mean thing done in turn. He didn't even care that he'd been banned from going out for two weeks. In Qaisan's eyes he'd still come out the victor and now here he was, roaming around with his twin, while someone was out of work.
"Guess it depends on who the gift is for." He mused, eyes traveling over the sand and the people milling about on it.
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Posted: Mon Jan 10, 2022 3:16 pm
"Fair." Replied Calix with pursed lips, the youngling not even bothered by their two shadows. At this point he had simply accepted it as part of their life, a constant companion to stab anyone who dared to get in their way. He admittedly had triggered such instances once or twice, but in his defense the person was being very shady before their guards approached. Calix was fairly patient about the whole situation because he knew that surely one day they would better understand his parents' concerns. Like in most novels they simply were not at that chapter yet.
And speaking of not arriving to a particular place just yet....Calix let out a sigh before turning on his heel. "I would assume we have to gift both mother and father. Do we need gifts for each other? What do you think?" His amber gaze went towards his twin thoughtfully. Wouldn't it be best if they simply chose their own presents?
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Posted: Mon Jan 10, 2022 3:24 pm
"What would be the point? We're never apart." If he saw something he wanted he would get it and the same went for Calix. It wasn't as if they could ever go out without one another anyway, or that they really wanted to at this point in their lives, so pretending to 'hide something away' was just a waste.
"Let's start with father. What could we get him that he doesn't already have?" If he needed something he would either get it himself or their mother would provide it. "What do people usually get one another during the solstice?"
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Posted: Mon Jan 10, 2022 4:00 pm
Calix nodded in agreement. It would be too much of a hassle to try and hide his gift from his brother and it wasn't as if they often left the manor without one another. The boy gave a slight shrug. "If our parents would prefer a full exchange then we can pick gifts out while we are here. I could probably use a new ink set." He enjoyed calligraphy and often used up all of his quills and ink.
"As for father?" Calix frowned and stopped walking, his gaze darting about the few shops in the local village that they had entered. "He has a good collection of weapons, but maybe something special?" But would that suffice? Calix pondered the question and thought about things he had read upon. "I believe it could be anything based upon the person. Some give baskets of sweets or some sort of snack, handmade if they're bold enough. Apparently handmade items are more affectionate?" Did they dare try to make sweets? His father did enjoy sweets, but even Calix wasn't certain if that would be the best gift.
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Posted: Wed Jan 12, 2022 7:08 pm
Calix had a point. Their parents would probably worry for them if they didn't have something to open during the exchange. "An inkset for you and new training sword for me." He'd gotten a new one recently, but it was basic; boring. Something of which Qaisan wasn't in the least. If they needed to get gifts then he would ask for something with style.
"I don't know how to bake." Furrowing his brow, Qaisan looked at his twin, "Do you?" Maybe it was a skill he'd picked up in his readings? But if it was then Calix would have tried to use it and he would have known..."Would father even want to eat something we've made? It would probably taste like mud."
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Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2022 7:35 am
"Sounds fair to me. Something with janarim in the design?" He offered thinking about the elegant designs he had seen etched on some of his father's swords. Something with a bronze or gold and crimson finish would probably be up to his brother's standards. His grandmother always wanted them to try and use hard work to get certain things, but at the same time their family rarely said no to requests and Calix was fairly good at saving his allowances.
"I've read about it, but I've never stepped into the kitchens." Calix gave a slight shrug as he pondered the option. "Certain sweets seem easy enough to make. We would just have to melt some chocolate and pour them around fruits or something." Some chocolate drizzled berries didn't sound so bad. Baking a cake or something like that? Probably not the best option for either of them unless they had a servant helping with the whole process. But that would mean dealing with someone else or worse, Alinta. Calix made a face at that. While he was okay with their aunt's visits it was still odd getting accustomed to the golden girl who acted so haughty around them even though she wasn't even two years older than them!
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Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2022 8:25 am
"Of course, what else would do?" What other creature would prove to be as strong and powerful as their house? How many attempts had been made on their life with zero success? If Qaisan hadn't seen them once with his own eyes he might have just thought the whole thing made up to get them to behave.
"I think we could manage that." They would need to find fresh fruit at the market, and chocolate so that they wouldn't use what was already in the kitchens. Someone might see them, make a fuss over it, and draw more eyes than he wanted. Under normal circumstances Qaisan would have just allowed the staff to do it, but this was a solstice gift so he was going to do it.
How hard could it be?
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Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2022 10:51 am
"Fair. Though I hear there are much more dangerous creatures throughout the world." Replied Calix without missing a beat. As much as he enjoyed the noble beasts the boy had seen drawings of so many other creatures that made him wonder. That made him ponder if they also should purchase some treats for their family's familiars, including his mother's janarim.
A small smile crossed Calix's lips. "Then we are in agreement." He glanced about before waving for his brother and their lovely shadows to follow him down the street. A smaller stall was set outside with an assortment of fresh fruits for them to pick through. "The red berries are very sweet and good but the yellow fruits are bitter which could go nicely with chocolate too." There was actually a gleam of interest in his gaze as he picked through their options. It was fun to see if they could actually do this on their own instead of relying on anyone else. Even if it wasn't as complicated as baking something at least it was a start!
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Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2022 11:26 am
Qaisan bristled, "Yeah right. I'm sure there are big beasts all over the place, but ours are the toughest." What other creatures could survive in a place as hot as Oba? The sands would burn anything else alive! Qaisan wasn't even particularly that loyal to his country, but there was something about being questioned that made it feel like a challenge to him. Like, if someone said the sky was green in just the wrong way he'd say it was purple and that was that.
Still, he calmed himself with a deep breath. This was Calix and while he'd definitely gotten into arguments with his twin he tried not to. It wasn't Alinta, after all.
"Maybe we could get some of both? And white chocolate too. It's sweeter so if we got some bitter fruits it might taste good." In all honesty it was a simple gift, certainly on the cheaper end of the things they'd purchased, but he was feeling a little excited about it. It would be something fun he could do with his brother, just the two of them, and hopefully one that their father would approve of.
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Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2022 12:03 pm
Calix simply nodded towards his twin. "Certainly." He agreed without wanting to get into a debate, not when they were currently on the same page for their gifts. Calix did not want to ruin the afternoon by getting into a fight over what was the toughest beast in the world. It wasn't as if the books noted which beast fought which anyways. He just knew the basics and hadn't seen many of the beasts personally so there was no point in arguing.
"That sounds good. I think the sweets shop sells blocks of chocolate that we can melt down. Perhaps they're even in different colors." He had seen his grandmother open a box of chocolates that were actually pink and red before. Maybe they could do some red then? That would be nice especially on the white fruit that he picked up as well. They could remove the prickly spines and it would have a crunchy but sweet texture underneath that could go well with the melted chocolate. Calix picked up a basket and started to place all of the different fruits inside, even some that he wasn't quite certain about. They could always taste it and see if it worked well with chocolate once they got home so why not? It was better to have too much than too few and he could leave the rest in the kitchen for the staff.
"Any final fruits?" Calix asked as he prepared to hand the merchant coin for the basket and its variety of fruits.
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Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2022 12:29 pm
While his twin set about picking out the fruits, Qaisan looked over his shoulder at their 'shadows'. The two were less visible now than they had been before, thanks to the cover the stalls gave them, but when Qaisan gave one the stink eye they reacted with a frown all the same.
Occasionally he would add one to the growing pile that he thought might be tasty; both for his father and for them to try while working. When he couldn't find one in particular, however, he snapped his fingers to get the merchant's attention. "Do you have any starfruit?"
"A few, but they were too small to sell. I didn't think anyone would buy them." The older gentleman lifted a basket onto the table and displayed the puny fruits.
"Do they still taste the same?"
"Not entirely. They're a little sweeter than usual."
"We'll take them all." Turning to Calix, Qaisan shrugged. "Mother likes starfruit. She might enjoy a snack."
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Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2022 2:21 pm
Calix chuckled. "I think that's fair. Sweets are supposed to be sweet anyway else that would be a waste of a name." He handed over the final coins to the vendor before carrying the basket tightly in his arms. While he normally would have considered giving it over to their escorts the boy was determined that they do everything for these gifts on their own. All that was left now was to pick the chocolates and return home. Calix grinned towards his brother as he started leading the way. "Let's be quick in the sweet shop and maybe buy a couple of truffles just in case this experiment doesn't work out so well." He offered thoughtfully as they continued along. Either way Calix was eager to see how well their gifts would go.
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Posted: Fri Jan 14, 2022 1:59 pm
Then it was settled. They would make a homemade gift for their father - possibly for mother as well - and hope that it turned out well.
"Sounds like a good idea to me." It was always better to have a backup anyway, especially since Qaisan wasn't sure they would be able to really pull this off. It sounded easy, but who knew if it really would be? Only time would tell, he supposed.
At least mother would be must easier. He thought about mixing some of the flower designs in with chocolate, but they would have to pay someone to do that. Hopefully Calix would agree and that was something he could bring up later.
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